Two IPL franchises, a mega auction, and a new media rights auction: BCCI drafts a plan for the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2022

The Cricket Control Council of India is in the process of preparing for the Indian Premier League next year. The new plan from BCCI should become one of the stepping stones for the further advancement and expansion of the IPL in 2022.

The new document details the project of two new franchises, which will be presented to the participants, as well as information about the retention of players, the holding of a mega-auction, and the new conditions of the tender for media rights.

After quite a long time, BCCI decided to add two new franchises to the league. As it became known from the project reports, regarding the new IPL teams, the bidding process will take place in August. However, it will only happen after a rigorous selection and detailed checks. Thereafter, the application process will begin two months later in October. It is at this time that the second phase of the IPL will begin.

Meanwhile, the media reported that there is already a list of business groups that have shown their interest in the teams. Among the interested corporations are Aurobindo Pharma Ltd from Hyderabad and Torrent Group, better known in Gujarat, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group from Kolkata, Adani Group from Ahmedabad.

In addition, according to the rules of the league, legal entities and some firms that specialize in consulting services and direct investments are also entitled to participate in the auction.

The mega-auction itself will be held on the eve of 2022, it will be possible then to add two new franchise teams.

Nowadays, when everyone is waiting for the second phase of the Indian Premier League, each of the franchises is carefully preparing for the mega-auction itself, negotiating, checking the documentation, and spending sleepless nights. This is the time when the majority of players are already listed for sale, with a limit on the number of players that can be retained by each franchise (four players in total per franchise).

Increasing the budget

One of the important implementations of the Cricket Control Council’s project in India is to increase salaries. For example, the BCCI announced that the budget will increase from Rs 85 crores to Rs 90 crores. That is, they want to add Rs 50 crores to the total salary budget, which includes 10 deductibles for today.

One franchise will account for 75% of the amount allocated. In addition, the increase will continue for three years. It will soon reach Rs 95 crores. And for the games of the 2024 season, it will be Rs 100 crore.

Retention of players

Each franchise will be eligible to keep 4 players, but only by fulfilling the following conditions. For example, in one franchise there can be only 1 foreign athlete and three Indians. A 2 by 2 rule is also allowed. That is two Indians and two players from abroad. In addition, the project has a formula for calculating salaries for players. In case the franchise began to retain less than four players. So if one player is eliminated and there are three left in the team, the salary will be calculated like this: Rs 15 crores, Rs 11 crores, and Rs 7 crores. If there are only two players left on the team, the formula is Rs 12.5 crores and Rs 8.5 crores. And payment for one player will also be Rs 12.5 crores.

If the Cricket Board allows the franchise to support four players at the same time with an increase of five rupees, then minor changes in the plan are possible.

Media rights auction

Another innovation from BCCI is the auctioning of basic media rights. They plan to do this when IPL 2021 is gonna end. The Directorate and the industry, in general, predict that the value of media rights is only going to rise in price. And according to current data, by about 25%. You ask, how to watch IPL? This is also due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

Since space, the so-called method of transmitting services over the Internet has become much more expensive during the OTT pandemic, than broadcasting on television. That’s why this factor can’t be ignored in the area of ​​media rights. This may play the most important role in the pricing of media rights in the upcoming months of the auction. In addition, thanks to this method, it will be possible to hold more than 90 matches between 10 teams.

It is worth noting that, when IPL 2021 took place, it faced the outbreak of a pandemic. At that time, almost 2 million cases of covid-19 were recorded in the country. The media described that the cricket tournament was held in New Delhi, a few kilometers from the street on which the covid hospital was located. According to media reports, it constantly lacks medicines, beds, and most importantly ‒ oxygen. However, despite all this, the authorities decided not to cancel the tournament, explaining this by the fact that the players are safe and they are not in danger. Moreover, they noticed that the cancellation of the event would not affect the statistics of the coronavirus in India in any way and, on the contrary, brought only positive emotions. 

But most of the Indians were still outraged. They even called this decision of the authorities “a feast during the plague.” Like, when an incredible number of people are in the hospital and die from the virus, the rich arrange such events without thinking about the consequences at all.

Nevertheless, some of the foreign players didn’t dare to stay for the tournament and went home. Among them is Andrew Tai, a 34-year-old athlete from Australia. He explained that the players seem to be treated with great care. All the conditions are organized; they cannot simply move freely through the streets. But if you open the Internet and read the notes of the media, it’s all terrifying, said the Australian. “That is why I decided not to attend the event.”

It is worth mentioning that the Indian Premier League is considered, without exaggeration, the most visited in the world. It now ranks sixth in the world in the ranking of all sports leagues. It has been broadcast live on YouTube for 11 years in a row.

Also, the cricket championships themselves significantly raise the Indian economy. For example, only in 2015, the season of the Indian Premier League significantly raised its GDP. Adding more than $182 million to the Gross Domestic Product.

A total of 13 teams have played in the Indian Premier League since its inception in 2008 and the IPL score is impressive. One of them became the winner of the championship three times. Two more teams have won the title twice, and the other three have won the cup once.

The most successful team is the Mumbai Indians. They have the largest number of titles and awards. It is worth noting that the Chennai Super Kings team distinguished themselves among them in IPL scores. Its players won the championship two years in a row in 2010 and 2011. In addition, they are considered the best in terms of winning among all existing teams. 

Also, it was Chennai who managed to reach the semi-finals of the playoffs every time they played in each of the seasons. Which certainly makes them strong contenders. Also, the Super Kings IPL scores say for themselves ‒ the team reached the finals exactly 6 times during their participation.

Let’s hope that the 2022 Indian Premier League will be more successful, without obstacles in the form of coronavirus and other turmoil.